September 16, 2002

Wayland staffer's witness leads to Belgian baptism
___By Teresa Young
___Wayland Baptist University
___PLAINVIEW--Wayland Baptist University already reaches far beyond Texas through off-campus centers, but one staff member took the school's global reach to a new extreme this summer by traveling to Belgium to baptize a new believer.
___The journey began when David Howle, webmaster at Wayland, took over teaching duties at Plainview High School for a second-year French class in September 2001.
___Howle, who speaks fluent French, began searching the Internet for pen pals for his Texas students. His best response came from Chantal Alexandre Wiame, who teaches a second-year English class in Belgium.
___The match was perfect. Over the next few months, the pair corresponded regularly via e-mail as their students corresponded with each other and participated in chat rooms and message boards, learning much about the different cultures.
___"It became clear to me that she was struggling with some very difficult issues," Howle recalled. "Her father had died, and she was taking care of those duties, and her mother has Alzheimer's disease, so she was caring for her as well. She also has a son who is autistic and a daughter who has overcome anorexia.
___"I said, 'I don't know how you can handle this--or how I would handle it--without the support of very good friends and my relationship with God.' She'd never heard that about God being important in someone's life."
___Wiame was curious about Howle's faith, so he began to send Bible verses and more information about a relationship with God. Knowing that his new friend really needed a local contact, however, he called Sam Verhaeghe of the Belgium Baptist Union to locate a pastor near her hometown.
___Pastor Ernest Nkongolo of Namur contacted Wiame, and over the course of their conversations, she made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. She became active in the Baptist church in Namur and wanted to be baptized.
___When Howle was invited to Belgium to perform the baptism, his pastor and church immediately came to his support. Members of First Baptist Church in Plainview helped fund the trip.
___While in Belgium, Howle and his wife, Cathy, presented Pastor Nkongolo with a set of Lord's Supper utensils purchased by their Sunday School class in Plainview. On Sunday, Aug. 25, Howle led a Sunday School lesson and preached in both French and English during the worship service at the Baptist church in Tournai. There, he presented a biographical sermon, narrating the book of Daniel as the character of Meshach. He also led a two-day workshop on personal behavioral patterns and spiritual gifts later that week.
___On Sept. 1, the Howles attended worship at the Namur church, where Waimi was to be baptized. Despite a few setbacks--the church's hot water heater was not working, so an upstairs neighbor allowed the pastor to fill an inflatable pool from his faucet--the service proceeded with music and prayer. After Howle's sermon, Waime and a Congolese woman were baptized.
___Both baptismal candidates gave testimonies, and Waimi sang "Amazing Grace" with Howle accompanying on guitar.
___The Howles returned to Plainview Sept. 2 with a new appreciation for the needs of Baptist congregations in Belgium.
___"There is much more ministry that can be done there," Howle said, mentioning specifically the issue of funding. "Pastor Nkongolo is from the Belgian Congo and has to have a work permit. On it, he can only list one profession, and if he chooses pastor, he cannot work anywhere else. But the Belgian Baptist Union can only afford to pay him for part-time, so his family lives on about $500 a month."
___Baptist churches in Belgium number only 28, and most are small, averaging about 50 active members. Although the Belgian Baptist Union is more than 100 years old, the country remains something of a mission field for evangelical groups, he said.
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